The meet-cute story about East Hampton Sandwich Co. is that Dallas native Hunter Pond apparently conceived of his business while daydreaming in law school. Pond subsequently dropped out and now owns three East Hampton stores (two in Dallas) with partner Will Stroud. Make no mistake: You won’t find a value of the week here. The exclusivity level fits Fort Worth’s University Village area, with its crowds of Horned Frogs and families with adorable children all fresh from the Fort Worth Zoo.

The priciest thing on the menu is the lobster roll. It is also, hands down, the best choice. If you’re a lobstah roll purist, you’ll be ecstatic about the giant, decadent, butter-drizzled flat-sided brioche bun slit open at the top –– it’s cut that way so the filling doesn’t all fall out the sides. Even if you’re not a purist, you’ll be dazzled by the amount of whole claw meat and giant shellfish chunks (not the dinky little shreds) inside. Lightly seasoned with scallions and a little garlic mayo, the meat is joined by some spring mix salad.

The special sandwich of the day was the chicken parmesan. The spiced, fried breast, which tasted pretty awesome by itself, was covered in tangy marinara sauce and melted mozzarella. The blend of bird, sauce, cheese, and fresh bread was extremely tasty.

Although it’s on the kids’ menu and, as a result, is slightly smaller than the average adult East Hampton sammy, the Fluffernutter isn’t just for the little dudes and dudettes. Served on sourdough Texas toast, the combination of sweet, melted marshmallow cream and smooth peanut butter was comforting and filling. You can also Elvis-ize it by adding bacon.

The hefty price tags on the sandwiches include generous sides of house-made potato chips that, for an extra dollar, can be exchanged for sweet potato fries. The thickly cut chips were very tasty, and the fries were well worth the extra buck: perfectly crispy on the outside, a little mealy on the inside, and covered in a sweet-salty spice blend.

The weakest link at East Hampton turned out to be the nicest-sounding item: Meyer lemon chicken salad. Ordered atop mixed salad greens instead of on a bun, the lemon-infused and juicy chicken salad tasted fine, but it disappeared quickly, leaving just a big bowl of greenery (and adorable watermelon radish slices). The saving grace was a ramekin of red pepper aioli sauce that worked equally well as a dressing and as a dip for some extraneous fries and chips.

If that Fluffernutter doesn’t sate your sweet tooth, consider the donut bag for dessert. Oddly named but really quite delicious, the dish consists of four dough balls deep-fried and dredged in cinnamon sugar. They’re more chewy than crispy.

East Hampton’s tiny spot on University is obviously decorated to conjure up visions of a beachfront retreat, right down to the red Adirondack chairs and wooden tables on the small front patio. Make that a beachfront retreat that can get hellaciously crowded and loud during Sunday lunch. Still, East Hampton’s lobster rolls and maybe a Bloody Mary (or three) are worth braving the purple-clad hordes.

3 COMMENTS

Well this review made me hop in my car and go try the grilled asparagus & Gruyere sandwich (after checking the menu on the link above). The sandwich is delicious, however RAW asparagus is impossible to chew not to mention inedible.Ok, I watched them put it on the “grill”, but man it could have used a lot more cooking time. So my Gruyere sandwich was pretty good, but it would have been awesome with cooked “grilled” asparagus.

Oh dear asparagus lover, I am sorry to hear this. Especially as that sandwich was on the short list for lunch (I defaulted to the Meyer lemon chicken). I have heard about consistency problems from several other people as well. Did you let them know you got an inedible product?

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